top of page
Jane Ripps
Managing Editor, ODYSSEY Media Group
marketing and
audience engagement
Throughout the school year, my media group does a lot of work with marketing our magazines and brand as well as engaging our audience. When I was Social Media Coordinator in the Spring of 2022, I did a lot of work with engaging students and community members especially.
promotion on social media
Social media has been one of the main ways we promote our stories for a while now. On Instagram, Facebook and Twitter I would post regularly to promote stories posted on our website. I would have to be aware of every story going up on our website as well as write captions to promote them. To the left and above are some examples of my stories that I promoted.
OMG on social media
When Prom 2022 was coming around, I posted a quick question on our story to collect responses.
When a review was posted on the website, I was looking for a fun way to promote it. The movie was super ppopular and so I posted a poll.
I covered a varsity basketball game in January of 2022 and included polls in the coverage so people weren't just clicking through mindlessly.
To encourage engagement during Teacher Appreciation Week, I worked with a senior on staff to create a graphic for our platforms. This short question got 93 comments.
outreach
When I was Viewpoints Editor, I had to pay close attention to the student body to reflect the diverse opinions at my school and write stories students would read. For an editorial I wrote on school safety policies, I created a survey and went around asking students their opinions on the matter. The data I collected was included in my story, and students who filled out the form had their voices heard.
letters to the editor
As a student-run journalism program, we are always striving for feedback and guidance from our audience so we can tells the news accurately. When I was Viewpoints Editor, it was my job to reach out to students and teachers across the school for feedback and reactions (good or bad) to our latest issue. This job forced me to step out of my comfort zone and break that barrier between news publication and audiences that shouldn't exist.
sphere of influence
At the beginning of every year, our staff participates in a marketing project to sell subscriptions. This includes creating a "Sphere of Influence" spreadsheet with names of family members, past teachers, community members, and anyone else I know who would be potential magazine subscribers. Following this assignment, I pull from this list of names for people to market to.
selling subscriptions
One major way I have marketed my program is through selling subscriptions. When I market, I am not only selling my program to customers but myself, too. I always highlight my personal "why" and what the program has offered me. Then, I will share what we can offer to the potential subscriber if they purchase. I have found that reaching out via text or phone calls (if in-person is not an option) is the most effective to getting replies and attention.
bottom of page